ALISSON
(AGE 29, BRAZIL)
His shot-stopping and
expertise at one-on-ones
make him the world’s
best. Can be caught out
with the ball at his feet9
TONY
CASCARINO’S
FORM GUIDE
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3)97 TOTAL 89
TRENT ALEXANDER-
ARNOLD (23, ENGLAND)
Some of his passing
is ridiculously good.
I thought he was man of
the match in the FA Cup
final against Chelsea9
JOËL MATIP
(30, CAMEROON)
Arguably his best
season since joining in
2016 and has been
unlucky to be left out at
times this season8
VIRGIL VAN DIJK
(30, NETHERLANDS)
He would only have
earned a mark of eight
until two months ago,
but he is back to his
imperious best now9
ANDREW
ROBERTSON
(28, SCOTLAND)
A throwback who would
spill blood for the cause
but also a modern full
back going forward9
JORDAN HENDERSON
(31, ENGLAND)
I would always trust
him to excel in difficult
games, which allows his
Liverpool team-mates
to shine9
FABINHO
(28, BRAZIL)
Really good at the
simple tasks, although
his tendency to commit
frequent fouls leaves
him at risk of a red card8
THIAGO ALCÂNTARA
(31, SPAIN)
He does things I can
only remember Zinédine
Zidane doing. His passing
can send the opposition
team the wrong way9
MOHAMED SALAH
(29, EGYPT)
A disappointing end to
the season but he has
had chances in each
game. This match will
not be any different9
SADIO MANÉ
(30, SENEGAL)
His work rate was
good but it has gone up
a notch this season. He is
a worry for Real because
he is so unpredictable9
LUIS DÍAZ
(25, COLOMBIA)
A revelation since he
arrived in January. Often
you know what he is
going to do, but it’s still
hard to stop him9
THIBAUT COURTOIS
(30, BELGIUM)
Made important saves
against PSG, Chelsea and
Manchester City. If he
repeats that here it will be
a problem for Liverpool9
REAL MADRID (4-3-3)DANI CARVAJAL
(30, SPAIN)
City caused the right
back difficulties. I think
he should just be a
squad player. You can
certainly get at him7
ÉDER MILITÃO
(24, BRAZIL)
He often gets caught
ball-watching and I don’t
fancy his chances in
one-on-ones. An
overrated player7
DAVID ALABA
(29, AUSTRIA)
The most accomplished
of a shaky back line. But
he is better at full back
and in midfield than at
centre back8
FERLAND MENDY
(26, FRANCE)
Quick and should have
a good battle with Salah.
Has a fine understanding
with Vinícius Júnior on
the left flank8
LUKA MODRIC
(36, CROATIA)
Still provides great
energy and creativity in
midfield and is the most
pleasing player on the
eye in the Real team9
CASEMIRO
(30, BRAZIL)
I’m not convinced by
him. He risks red cards
with some challenges
and should have been
sent off against City7
TONI KROOS
(32, GERMANY)
Has gone under the
radar a bit this season.
Still plays his part but his
contributions are more
defensive nowadays8
FEDERICO VALVERDE
(23, URUGUAY)
A workhorse who does
plenty of running and
helps his team become
more compact and
harder to play against8
KARIM BENZEMA
(34, FRANCE)
Stop Benzema and you
will win. I’ve said that in
every round this season.
No one has stopped him
and Real marched on9
VINÍCIUS JÚNIOR
(21, BRAZIL)
Has great pace and
you don’t know if he will
go outside or cut inside.
Should be a great duel
with Alexander-Arnold9
the times | Saturday May 28 2022 1GG 7thegame
Klopp is then able to “orchestrate” the
next few minutes of the intermission,
Jordet says. He creates an atmosphere
that is warm, optimistic and
encouraging, but also focused and
fiercely determined. Jordet points out
that Klopp’s exchange with each taker
— “Are you OK to take one?”
“Number three?” — is sealed with a
hug; a typical Klopp touch.
“It gives him the space and time to
leverage his relationships with his
players, his communication style, and
basically instil an atmosphere of
safety, warmth, positivity, optimism,”
Jordet says. “I get the feeling that
these players step up to the ball
knowing that if they miss, their
manager will still love them.
“Maybe that just takes your
shoulders down half an inch, and that
might be the difference.”
At the same time, he points out,
Klopp’s rallying speech in the huddle
was anything but soft. “It was very
passionate, very strong, forceful. In
that comes a little bit of that
determination, which is also key.”
A penalty kick is a psycho-spatial
ritual, with territorial elements that
savvy teams can turn to their
advantage. You may have noticed, for
example, how, when Liverpool have
been awarded a penalty in normaltime this season, their players have
made an effort to screen the taker,
usually Mohamed Salah, from the
distraction antics of opponents. A
similar role is performed by Alisson
during shoot-outs.
“The way he hands the ball to his
team-mate as they’re going to take a
penalty kick [is] executed to
perfection,” Jordet says. “Alisson takes
up space with this action: he doesn’t
just roll the ball to his team-mate, he
positions himself right in front of the
box, almost to create a shield between
his team-mate and the opposition
goalkeeper.”
In fact, even the Mané mistake can
be understood as a consequence of
good practice, and although Kloppjoked after the FA Cup shoot-out that
“I realised it’s better to shut up,”
Jordet believes there is something to
be said for managerial interference, in
certain cases.
“What you achieve with that is to
take a bit of the responsibility off the
player,” he says. “If you have a player
for whom the experience of the
pressure is really intense and high,
that’s a big risk factor. You want to
take it down as much as you can, so if
you can assume a bit of the
responsibility, that’s a good thing.”
Liverpool’s record inspires
confidence. Only three players in
Klopp’s squad (Mané, Takumi
Minamino and Divock Origi) have
ever missed in a shoot-out; the others
have only positive individual
experiences. And for all the weird
voodoo of a big final — Jordet points
out that finals often show up as an
anomaly in his data; barely half of the
shoot-out kicks taken in the Euro,
Olympics and Africa Cup of Nations
finals were scored — it’s hard not to
feel that Liverpool have an edge if the
match goes the distance.
In some ways, it would be a fitting
end to their treble quest: 12 yards, five
kicks, one final test for a team who
have refuted the old myth of a lottery
with new methods of mastery.oot-out glories
Van Dijk versus
BenzemaThe clever movement of Benzema is
one of his main qualities. He likes to
drop off and link the play — a bit like
Harry Kane has been doing with
Tottenham Hotspur to leave
space for Son Heung-min.
I think Benzema will
drop off to avoid Virgil
van Dijk.
Should the Liverpool
centre back then follow
him, it will create a gap
— and Ancelotti will be
thinking how to exploit
that. On the right, he
could play Rodrygo, who
scored two goals in the semi-
final comeback against Manchester
City, and has
lots of pace.
But it might be that Ancelotti
selects Federico Valverde to play
there. He is a clever player who
provides a balanced approach to
defending and attacking which is
important given the strength ofRobertson at left back. If Van Dijk
doesn’t follow Benzema, then it has to
be the midfielder — for example,
Fabinho as the No 6 — who deals
with the France striker.
The difficulty now is that when
Fabinho looks at Benzema, he also
sees Luka Modric or Toni Kroos close
to him. In this case, one of the
other midfielders, Jordan
Henderson or Thiago
Alcântara, must be aware
of that and provide
balance. Coordination
and communication is
going to be key.
When Liverpool
played Manchester City
at the Etihad Stadium last
month, they had problems
with this in the first half.
The solution that Jürgen Klopp
found was to press higher in the
second half and ensure Liverpool
were on top of City. This allowed
them to regain the ball in the City
half of the pitch and they drew 2-2.
The issue can be that if the
opponent avoids the press, then there
is a massive space in which to play.Alisson saves Mount’s penalty in his
side’s FA Cup final shoot-out victory